Instant Pot Blueberry French Toast Bake 3 Ways

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Instant Pot Blueberry french toast bake 3 ways covers french toast casserole in the oven, slow cooker french toast and as photographed, instant pot blueberry french toast bake!

Easter and Mother’s Day, oh and General Conference (a twice a year church meeting where we get to hear from the leaders of our faith) are what spring is all about. Actually, my birthday and our oldest daughter’s birthday are squished in there too! Every year our site gets searched over for breakfast and brunch ideas. I imagine there are probably baby shower food ideas and bridal shower brunch recipes that people need too. Especially this instant pot blueberry french toast bake 3 ways.

No matter what you are looking for, Instant pot Blueberry french toast bake 3 ways is exactly what you need! We will show you how to bake a french toast casserole, how to make french toast casserole in your slow cooker to save space in the oven and finally the method for making breakfast in an instant pot.

We are also going to go over all of the questions we’ve been getting about breakfast casseroles, specifically french toast bake recipes.

The Instant Pot is totally our jam these days and making delicious dinners quickly! You can find all our Instant Pot recipes here. And don’t miss our Instant Pot Cheat Sheet that has all information you need to cook all the basics in the Instant Pot.

Can You Bake French Toast in the Oven?

You can bake french toast in the oven but don’t expect it to turn out like french toast on a skillet. When you bake french toast in the oven it misses that direct contact with heat so even if you put a cookie sheet on top of the bread it won’t turn out the same.

However, french toast bake or casserole is a great way to enjoy that flavor without flipping individual pieces of bread. This kind of french toast needs to sit for at least 20 minutes and up to overnight in order to absorb as much of the custard (the egg and milk) as possible. If you don’t do this it will sit on top of the bread like an eggy mess.

You’ll also want to bake this french toast in a casserole dish. If you keep it packed in a tall dish it’s more of a bread pudding texture (like what you see in these photos) while spreading it out a little more in a bigger pan will give you more texture.

What Bread to Use for French Toast Bake?

French Toast casserole loves a sturdy bread because it needs to hold up to that thick and creamy custard it’s dipped in, or in this case soaked in.

For french toast bake make sure you buy Brioche, Challah or French Bread. You can click on any of those for a recipe in case your store doesn’t carry them. Our personal favorite is Challah (challah is pronounced, holla.) or Brioche as a close second.

In fact, if you’ve been converted to our 2 secrets for the best hamburger you’ll see how important a good bun is. But let’s get back to our blueberry french toast bake 3 ways.

Can you Use Regular Bread for French Toast Casserole?

A thin piece of sandwich bread will just fall apart and crumble, so if you’re hoping you can use regular bread for french toast casserole the answer is no. If there’s just no way around it, make sure you leave the bread out for 2-3 days so it becomes extra stale that way when the liquid is added the bread will have more structure to soak up the custard.

Can French Toast Casserole be Reheated?

French toast casserole is one of the few breakfast items that actually is awesome reheated. Reheated fried eggs? No thanks. But a french toast bake really holds up so well if you wrap the dish in plastic wrap or place it in a sealed container.

To reheat french toast bake you can microwave it, but if we have time we love to bake it again so the top gets all crisp again. We place it in a 350 degree oven or 400 if we are in a hurry, and bake for 15-20 minutes. If the top is getting too brown we just place a little foil over the top.

How to Make French Toast Bake Casserole

Alright, here’s how to make french toast bake or french toast casserole start out with one of those awesome breads we talked about. We prefer to cut ours into cubes, about 1-2″ because using the whole piece of bread tends to end up a little flat on texture and appearance. The cubes are perfect for those golden peaks you want.

Next, make a custard which usually involves heavy cream or cream cheese. Can you use milk instead of heavy cream in french toast casserole? Absolutely, but it won’t have that creamy, rich flavor like a fattier product will have. Cream cheese does exactly what the have cream does plus it tastes more like a stuffed french toast which we all love.

Pour the custard over the bread and gently press it down a little so it absorbs all of the liquid. It’s important to not skip letting the bread soak this all up as that’s what makes it a casserole.

Now bake it all off until the top is golden. Serve french toast bake with syrup, berries or even powdered sugar!

How to Make Slow Cooker French Toast Casserole

To make slow cooker french toast casserole you’ll want to use that inner pot to prepare the bread in. I don’t like to stick it in a bowl and then dump it in the slow cooker because it clumps it all together and breaks the bread more.

Make sure you spray or line the slow cooker so you don’t end up with burned or stuck on pieces of bread.

If you’re in a hurry you can do 2 hours at high heat or if you’ve got time go for low heat for 4 hours.

Serve it straight out of the slow cooker.

How to Make French Toast Bake in an Instant Pot

For the instant pot blueberry french toast bake 3 ways, follow the same instructions as the slow cooker and baking for blueberry french toast casserole 3 ways, but use a 7″ spring form pan. This makes it easy to remove the entire casserole from the spring form pan and onto a serving platter which is really pretty. We use this 7″ spring form pan as it holds up so well over time and it’s leak proof. We also like this serving platter in blue and white.

Create a sling for the instant pot by folding a long piece of tin foil back and forth to make it thick and sturdy. Place it under the pan and gently lift it into the instant pot.

Set the instant pot to high pressure for 20-25 minutes and wait to put the topping on once it’s done, then bake it to make a crispy topping. You could also put it on in the instant pot, but it won’t have that crisp texture.

If you’re an Instant Pot lovers, check out our Instant Pot Cheat Sheet! It has all the details for cooking all the basics in the Instant Pot.

Can French Toast Casserole be Made in Advance?

Blueberry French toast bake 3 ways can be made in advance, just like any french toast casserole. Place the bread and custard in the dish and cover with plastic wrap or tin foil. Refrigerate overnight or up to 30 hours. Remove it from the fridge for 5 minutes before baking.

Can French Toast Casserole be Frozen?

French toast casserole can be frozen after baking if you allow it to cool completely. It’s important that it not be warm in the slightest or it will break down more in the freezer and not freeze evenly.

Wrap the french toast bake in foil and if possible place into a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 30 days.

We hope you love our blueberry french toast bake 3 ways as much as we do and we hope that going over all of the different methods and questions is helpful. We realize that not all of you have an instant pot or slow cooker so we hope this helps!

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